Dragon Age: Inquisition

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Trial of the Lovers

Fair-Weather Friends always on: enter Halamshiral with all followers.

0.19%

How to unlock the Trial of the Lovers achievement in Dragon Age: Inquisition - Definitive Guide

ZSquared8080

TrueAchievements

03 Sep 2016 06:17

This trial needs to be started with a new game. When selecting the difficulty, you can set a Custom difficulty with the Trespasser DLC, and select the Fair-Weather Friends trial. The difficulty level doesn't matter. The achievement will pop once you begin Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, during your conversation with Duke Gaspard, if you have all 9 companions recruited, and still in your party.

With Fair-Weather Friends on, all disapproval from your followers is doubled, which means you're at a higher risk of them leaving the party if they disapprove of your actions. As such, most guides focus on companion conversation guides -- but I found that wasn't the information I wanted to get this achievement efficiently. Instead, I wanted to know (1) who was even at risk for leaving, and (2) how little I could interact with them to minimize that risk. That's the focus of this guide.

The Original 3: Cassandra, Solas, and Varric

It seems like these three can't leave the party, based on my investigation. Cassandra and Solas have story elements after WE&WH. Even if your approval with Solas gets low enough to have the scene where the Inquisitor punches him, he doesn't leave. Varric's key bit of the story technically is before WE&WH, but again I couldn't find any indication that he leaves. Plus, Varric is pretty easy to keep happy. I didn't follow a conversation guide with these three, and just used my best guess. Occasionally I got disapproval from Solas but never any risk of him leaving.

The Main Quest 2: Dorian and Cole

The first character you recruit depends on whether you choose to side with the Mages (In Hushed Whispers) or Templars (Champions of the Just). This section steps through how to keep that first character happy and in your party. The second character is recruited at Skyhold. Thanks to Arador, who confirms that you can wait to recruit the second character until just before Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, similar to the Side Quest 4 below.

Side with Mages -- In Hushed Whispers -- Dorian

This is the easier branch for the achievement. At the end of In Hushed Whispers, recruit Dorian to your party, and take the mages as your allies rather than conscripting them to net his approval. Once at Skyhold, don't talk to Dorian and he'll stick with the party until you begin WE&WH.

Side with Templars -- Champions of the Just -- Cole

Cole is more challenging to keep happy, so this is a trickier branch for this achievement. Recruit Cole at the end of Champions of the Just. During the quest In Your Heart Shall Burn, you must save as many Haven citizens as possible. Cole's approval is in play, and you net disapproval with each citizen that you don't rescue. You won't get a chance to repair Cole's approval with dialog if you don't rescue enough, so: Save your game before IYHSB, and find Cole once you reach Skyhold. If he leaves, you'll need to try again.

Once you make it to Skyhold, assuming Cole is still with you, I recommend following a conversation guide to raise his approval (e.g., Dragon Age wiki: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Cole/Approval). You can also boost Cole's approval by completing small side quests that help people in the Hinterlands, which you might be doing anyway to build power for WE&WH.

The Side Quest 4: Sera, Vivienne, Blackwall, and Iron Bull

Trigger all 4 recruit quests after arriving at Val Royeaux (Sera and Vivienne in Val Royeaux, Blackwall and Iron Bull back at Haven), but hold off on recruiting them. TillTheMorning confirms that you can wait to complete the recruitment quests until right before Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts.

The nice thing with this approach is you can avoid any disapproval from these four due to your Mage / Templar choices by recruiting them after the decisions are made -- meaning you can focus on keeping Cole or Dorian happy, rather than trying to balance the preferences of 6 different characters. Simply recruit these four at the last minute (along with whichever character you didn't get from a Main Quest, who will be at Skyhold), then leave them alone. They'll come along to the Winter Palace without issue.

Summary

Following this guide, the only character that can be troublesome to keep around is Cole, especially if you side with the Templars. By delaying your recruitment of the other characters, you can sidestep their approval to easily snag this achievement.

03 Sep 2016 06:17

19 Comments

Thanks so much for the walkthrough man. I couldn't find one like this anywhere!

By ICE Faux Pirate on 30 Dec 2016 15:48

No problem, glad it helped!

By ZSquared8080 on 30 Dec 2016 15:52

I just wanted to confirm that you can wait with the side quest companions until right before you Start the wicked eyes and wicked heart quest. Just make sure to pick up the quests as soon as possible. Thanks for the great guide, its actually the only guide on this site that explains something. +1

By TillTheMorning on 23 Feb 2017 13:35

Nice! I updated the solution with your note, thank you.

By ZSquared8080 on 24 Feb 2017 06:58

I had zero problems popping this achv because of this excellent guide.
Thank you!

By Sovereign in 4K on 07 Feb 2018 05:16

If you go with "Hushed Whispers" you can wait to get Cole just before "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" too

By Arador on 18 Apr 2018 12:03

Nice! It never occurred to me that the post-Skyhold Main Quest recruit could be delayed like that. I'm betting the same is true for Dorian if you side with the Templars.

By ZSquared8080 on 18 Apr 2018 16:08

I was freaking out when I got to Skyhold and had an "X" over Cole's card. Because when he first appears to you on the table after the Envy demon you either "let him stay" or "kill him". It has one of those important looking decision boxes unlike all the others. However, you formerly recruit him at Skyhold.

By Hexa Fox on 28 Jan 2019 05:36

Ah -- did you side with the Templars then?

I've only heard, but haven't confirmed, that Cole's approval is in play as you're making your way through Haven. If you don't formally recruit him until Skyhold, maybe it isn't. Thanks for the info!

By ZSquared8080 on 28 Jan 2019 05:48

Super interesting -- so basically Cole for you was always ready to leave, but you avoided going back to Skyhold, and thus he never left?

I think that's a really helpful tip. If you see on the party select screen that someone is Red, that means either to go back to an earlier save, or else just avoid going to Skyhold until this achievement is unlocked.

By ZSquared8080 on 31 Jan 2019 23:01

Only using the starting party members, picking mages over templars, giving them a full alliance, waiting until I had 30 power to recruit everyone, and then activating the Winter Palace immediately after worked perfectly. Thanks!

By Blue Radium on 04 Nov 2020 06:15

Glad to hear it!

By ZSquared8080 on 12 Nov 2020 05:26

If you did a few quests in Haven and recruited all the followers, then you can start Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts as soon as you arrive in Skyhold (I had 104 Power, but you only need 30). If Cole isn't a follower yet (Mage path) go speak to him. You need to speak to Josephine before you enter the War Room for Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts to appear on the map. The achievement unlocks as soon as you start Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts. You can then reload an earlier save and turn off Fair-Weather Friends if you want to save completing Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts until later.

By HolyHalfDead on 06 Oct 2022 22:22

104 power is a lot to have when you first get to Skyhold! Personally when I was doing this achievement, I was also doing Trial of the Fool at the same time, which means I was under level 5 and didn't have anywhere near that power level.
Also, I'd caution others that you run a risk with recruiting everyone right away and then going the Mage path, because there is no choice around conscripting the mages that avoids a party member's disapproval. Glad it worked out for you, though!

By ZSquared8080 on 07 Oct 2022 02:02

Thanks, good guide. But one thing i want to add: Cole will leave if you save not all citizens during "In Your Heart Shall Burn". It is mentioned in the guide under ">> Side with Templars -- Champions of the Just -- Cole" but he will also leave if you did "In Hushed Whispers" instead. So rescue all citizens no matter which mission you did.

By Celephai on 21 Nov 2022 12:58

Glad you got it! I honestly have no idea what the thresholds are for folks to leave, good to know that Sera stuck around after you sided with the mages.

By ZSquared8080 on 11 Nov 2023 02:02

Yeah I sided with the Templars. I can almost 100% confirm that Cole's approval is in play before you recruit him. This literally took me hours to do and your guide was endlessly helpful. After recruiting Cole anytime I would return to Skyhold I would be greeted by a scene with Cole leaving. I did some of the stuff in Skyhold to raise his approval and even went to the Hinterlands with him to do a few quests to raise approval there. However, upon returning to Skyhold he would still leave.

Keep in mind this was right after recruiting him as well. I noticed when selecting characters to go with me on quests his card was always red. So there is little doubt that approval is in play for him before recruiting him unless we are missing something. Arador was spot on about waiting to recruit him and you for adding it to the guide. The achievement popped just like you said, as soon as the quest began. So he did not get a chance to leave.

Really annoying because of Cole, thanks again.

By Hexa Fox on 28 Jan 2019 09:51

Hey, thanks for the note and the added tip. It's been a few years since I did this achievement, but I remember I did this at the same time as Trial of the Fool (Level < 5) and Trial of the Magician (Requires "In Hushed Whispers" fork). I can say definitively that I didn't save all the Haven citizens, because IYHSB was super hard for me with all the trials active.

Can you share more about how Cole left your party, after you took the In Hushed Whispers branch? When did you recruit him to the party, and when did he leave?

By ZSquared8080 on 22 Nov 2022 00:56

Actually really easy, I guess you really need to annoy somebody a lot for them to leave.

I have recruited everyone except for Cole after In Hushed Whispers, before arriving to Skyhold, then Cole after that. I got big disapprovals from Sera for siding with mages, but she did not leave.

I got all 30 power for Wicked Hearts in Hinterlands. Finishing quests, closing rifts, completing requisitions. You can use war table and complete Power for a price missions, giving you merchant Farris, who sells contracts that give you power. If you use the item duplication glitch, you can unlock 30 power in no time at all.

Item dupe for money:
Store a valuable item in Skyhold storage chest. Leave and save, game might crash. Now, upon retrieving the item back from the chest, pres A and B at the same time. You will retrieve the item and close the chest at the same time, duplicating the item - 1 in your inventory, 1 in your chest.

Great for rare items and amulets of power, you can unlock every ability for a character.

By Darth Hawk CZ on 10 Nov 2023 23:22

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Resident Jesus

TrueAchievements

09 Sep 2015 20:28

Start-Options-Trials-

*This WILL require a new playthrough, loading an old save game will NOT work.*

This doesn't have anything to do with revisiting the Winter Palace in the Trespasser DLC, so don't fret about having to do a full run through again.

That being said, you will have to do a playthrough up until the Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts main story mission. This popped for me during the cutscene of you first arriving at the Winter Palace, just prior to the first conversation with Grand Duke Gaspard.

You may want to do this alongside a few of the other achievements.

As a note, I only put the Fair-Weather Friends trial on just prior to the fight with the demon at the end of the prologue.

09 Sep 2015 20:28

25 Comments

"This doesn't have anything to do with revisiting the Winter Palace in the Trespasser DLC."

Oh thank god. Upvote from me.

By Dresden N7 on 10 Sep 2015 00:10

I am sorry... I am a bit confused. Do you mean I have to start a brand new game and have that trial on all the time up until the point where I reach (and complete) "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts"?

Please tell me I am understanding this completely incorrectly, please, please, please.

Or can I just use a save file and turn that trial on before starting Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts?

By JC Kit on 10 Sep 2015 00:38

@GatorJCP

I'm afraid you're understanding it almost perfectly, only you don't need to complete Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, just start the quest.

What i'd recommend is doing some of the other achievements while you progress towards this and if you just focus on getting power for the main quests/unlocking Storm Coast for Iron Bull, it doesn't take too much time

By Resident Jesus on 10 Sep 2015 02:08

Best way to grind power would be to just focus on camps, rifts, and side quests in only Hinterlands and Storm Coast right? Avoid unlocking other regions?

By BiggDope on 10 Sep 2015 02:57

@Resident Jesus Agghhhh... OK, thank you for the confirmation. I guess I will use that play through for the Trials of the Magician and the Fool as you suggest.

By JC Kit on 10 Sep 2015 03:26

Exactly BiggDope, requisitions also get you 1 power each if you're struggling for the power

By Resident Jesus on 10 Sep 2015 11:55

Doesn't unlock for me with a previous save game! Activated Trial before the "In Hushed Whispers" mission and played straight to the "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" mission...

By HoHe69 on 10 Sep 2015 13:47

Ah sorry if that wasn't clear in the solution, you do have to start a new playthrough, I also tried doing the same to no avail.

By Resident Jesus on 10 Sep 2015 13:50

I have one question.
You said: this popped for me during the cutscene of you first arriving at the Winter Palace, just prior to the first conversation with Grand Duke Gaspard.

The achievement is: enter Halamshiral with all followers.

So i must arrive with all party members in the Winter Palace?

By RAFTAKLA on 11 Sep 2015 14:02

I believe you just have to make sure you have met all party members and have them available on the selection screen prior to starting the mission :)

By Resident Jesus on 11 Sep 2015 14:07

Ok thanks :)

By RAFTAKLA on 11 Sep 2015 15:05

I did everything right and still did not get the achievement. Started a new game, activated the trials from the start, never changed it, spent 17+ hours to get to WEaWH and boom, nothing. I wonder what I did wrong?
I managed to piss Vivienne off too much until I got her negative approval scene in Skyhold, though. But she's still with me... just very, very judgemental...

By ChaosWytch on 18 Sep 2015 04:17

Ah, I never saw any negative approval scenes. That could be why it didn't unlock for you. I'll add it to the solution

By Resident Jesus on 18 Sep 2015 12:01

It unlocked for me 12 hours later. Apparently Xbox was having problems with something and it did not unlock the achievement for me right away. Now I'm just missing the bear achievement. I just need to kill 3 more and it's not registering for the achievement.

I guess I'll have to wait till they fix whatever is wrong with achievements atm.

By ChaosWytch on 18 Sep 2015 22:54

Had a similar problem with a battlefield achievement today :)

Removed that bit from the solution

By Resident Jesus on 18 Sep 2015 23:42

I do not have this DLC, so I am not familiar with the 'Trials' requirements.

Can you explain, in more detail, exactly WHY you need to start a new game?

I imagine many of us have an existing save just prior to this mission start, and it would be nice to know why this cannot be loaded - trial switched on, achievement requirement done, switch trial off.

Thanks, and appreciate your guide and help.

By DrShoe1976 on 26 Sep 2015 22:49

Thanks for taking the time to respond, RJ.

I didn't know what the 'Fair Weather' actually meant, now you've mentioned it the New Game requirement is fairly obvious!

Thanks again.

By DrShoe1976 on 27 Sep 2015 13:32

It's been so long since i played this game. Can you lose your companion if you get too much disaprovedment from them?

By jc colding on 26 Oct 2015 11:25

I've never had it happen to me, so I wasn't aware that this could happen before this achievement came about, but it seems so.

By Resident Jesus on 26 Oct 2015 12:55

I don't want people to be greeted by a wall of text describing every minute detail. If people have further questions, they can ask, as they have done.

This trial affected my short playthrough to get this achievement in no way, but the in-game text states "Negative approval changes for followers are doubled. Slightly increases the chance of receiving special shipment rewards in your stronghold." You can find an in-depth look at all the trials here: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Trials

By Resident Jesus on 18 Nov 2015 01:47

I swear to God this is the last DA game i ever play, hate all these new retard achievements

By CRT JEDIMARK on 28 Apr 2016 22:32

Something that should be mentioned. It appears as if you need to save all of the people in Haven during the siege. If you don't, Cole leaves the first time you come back to Skyhold (after having recruited him and been in Skyhold previously). I was doing my run for the Reach Skyhold Level 5 & Under, but didn't save the civilians. I managed to recruit Cole, then went to get Blackwall, came back to Skyhold, and he gave me this speech about not caring about people. Did his little Forget thing and left.

By Rhyolitic on 21 Aug 2016 06:19

This was waaaay easier than I expected, I did it at the same time as Trial of the Fool and Trial of the Magician and Trial of the Emperor, just don't talk to anyone unless you know they will approve after getting to Skyhold. I stayed in the Hinterlands and did rifts and sidequests, loads of which actually have positive rep for Cole and Iron Bull as they like you helping people. It's surprisingly easy to piss off Vivienne so I recruited her before taking the mages and haven't talked to her since.

By SuperAwesomez on 06 Jul 2017 10:10

It would be nice to see this solution complete without having to read all these comments. It should include: the need to have all party members unlocked (and mention of the other achievement from the main game which gives details) Since some members may be missable (Blackwell perhaps). It should also detail in the soultion what the TRIAL actually does to your game play and how this can negatively effect your party members since some actions can really make them dislike you quickly. Currently this solution is incomplete.

By Kanchanaburi on 18 Nov 2015 00:40

Trials are modifiers you can turn on in the options menu that affect things within the gameplay, so for example, the Fair-Weather Friends trial needed for this achievement doubles the amount of positive or negative approval you get from companions when making decisions.

The reason you need to start a new game for this one is in the achievement text. "Fair-Weather Friends always on".

I also had a save just prior to this point and was disappointed when it didn't pop.

By Resident Jesus on 27 Sep 2015 10:06

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DarkRicochet117

TrueTrophies

22 Nov 2016 00:58

IMPORTANT: This trial needs to be turned on during the prologue!
Any later than this and the trophy will be unobtainable.

So first off you will need to recruit ALL companions, next you will need to keep them all happy; if you can then this trophy will pop up during the first cut-scene in the Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts main story mission.

The best way to go about getting this trophy is to SAVE OFTEN, this way if you get any disapproval from your companions you can just load a previous save and try to avoid that disapproval.

Cassandra - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Cassandra_Pentaghast/Approva...
Varric - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Varric_Tethras/Approval_(Inq...)
Solas - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Solas/Approval
Dorian - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dorian_Pavus/Approval
Cole - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Cole/Approval
Sera - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Sera/Approval
Vivienne - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Vivienne/Approval
Blackwall - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Blackwall/Approval
The Iron Bull - http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Bull/Approval

22 Nov 2016 00:58

Floyd, bantycakes, BiggD

XboxAchievements

Once “Fair-Weather Friends” has been activated, it’ll double a companion’s disapproval ratings, thus making it a challenge to keep all 9 companions around during the course of your playthrough. For this achievement, you need to bring all 9 of them to Halamshiral during “Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts.” Don’t worry, this achievement is not nearly as hard as it may seem.

Also, take note that this achievement cannot be done via a previous save file. This must be done on a new playthrough, and the trial must be turned on the moment you are able to open the “Options” menu.

As generously outlined by fellow guide writer ixii over on the sister site, be sure to refer below to a checklist that includes how/where each companion is recruited, as well as what sort of actions and dialogue choices nets approval and disapproval.

Cassandra

She will automatically join during the prologue.
She approves of an Inquisitor who accepts that he/she is Andraste's Chosen.
She approves of justice and punishment that fits the crime.
She disapproves of siding with the mages.
She greatly disapproves of an Inquisitor who speaks of their own power or personal gain.
She does not trust Cole, and thus if the Inquisitor speaks highly of him, she will disapprove.

Varric

He will automatically join during the prologue.
He slightly approves when the Inquisitor uses good humor and sarcasm.

Solas

He will automatically join during the prologue.
He approves of an Inquisitor who asks questions and who wants to protect knowledge.
He approves of finding and activating the scattered elven artifacts.
He approves when the Inquisitor does or says anything positive about elves and mages.
He disapproves of Templars and harsh justice on mages.
He disapproves when the Inquisitor speaks of personal gain.
He disapproves if the Inquisitor believes he/she is Andraste’s chosen.

Iron Bull

Early in your playthrough, you will find Krem, a mercenary, standing outside the Chantry in Haven.
Speaking with him will begin the quest that will lead to Iron Bull (in the Storm Coast).
Iron Bull approves of most things, and is easy to keep happy.
He supports the Templars and Grey Wardens.
He approves and enjoys killing dragons with the Inquisitor.
He disapproves allying the Inquisition with the mages or disbanding the Templars.

Dorian

If you side with the Mages during “In Hushed Whispers,” he will join your party during the middle of the quest.
If you side the Templars during “Champions of the Just,” he will join your party after the quest is finished.
Either way, you must ask him to stick around and help the Inquisition once either quest is finished.
He approves of humor and sarcasm but not egotism or aggression.
He approves when the Inquisitor treats mages well.
He disapproves of making anyone Tranquil and allying with the Templars.
He disapproves if you speak of your personal gain or power as Inquisitor.

Cole

He will automatically join during the siege cutscene in the “In Your Heart Shall Burn” quest.
He approves of siding with any side that is the oppressed or maligned side.
He disapproves of harsh judgment to anyone.

Vivienne

In Val Royeaux, you will meet a man who issues an invitation, thus triggering "The Imperial Enchanter" quest.
Head to this new location, speak with Vivienne, and ask her to join the Inquisition.
She approves of discipline above all else.
She approves if you ally with the Templars or conscript the mages.
She will disapprove if you disband the Templars, or if you allow the Grey Wardens to join you.
She does not trust Cole or Morrigan, so be careful with your dialogue about them.

Sera

In Val Royeaux, an arrow will be shot into the ground by your feet; read it immediately to trigger Sera’s quest and recruit her.
She approves whenever the Inquisitor protects or aids the poor people.
She disapproves of the Templars and similar oppressive regimes.
She approves of an Inquisitor who says things like "because it's right."

Blackwall

After progressing past "The Threat Remains" quest and returning from Val Royeaux, you will automatically be given "The Lone Warden" quest by your Circle.
Complete this quest to meet Blackwall and recruit him to the Inquisition.
He approves of mercy and justice.
He approves of helping the poor and weak, and approves of self-sacrifice.
He disapproves of force and harsh punishment.

Once you accept the “Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts” quest, the achievement will unlock upon entering the Winter Palace via cutscene so long as all 9 companions are still part of the Inquisition. Remember, this achievement is best paired alongside "Trial of the Fool" since both require a fresh, new playthrough. By extension, since "Trial of the Fool" has you rushing and skipping many quests, it will make earning disapproval a lot harder, thus making this achievement much easier!